Phylogenetic diversity and spatiotemporal dynamics of bacterial and microeukaryotic plankton communities in Gwangyang Bay of the Korean Peninsula

Nutrient dynamics function globally, flowing from rivers to the ocean (estuarine–coastal zone), and are vulnerable to climate change. Microbial habitats can be affected by marine nutrient dynamics and may provide a clue to predict microbial responses to environmental heterogeneity in estuarine–coastal zones. We surveyed surface seawater in Gwangyang Bay, a semi-enclosed estuary in Korea, from 2016 to 2018 using a metabarcoding approach with prokaryotic 16S and eukaryotic 18S rRNA genes. Bacterial and microeukaryotic communities in these waters showed distinct local communities in response to environmental heterogeneity and community transition at spatiotemporal scales in the estuarine–coastal zone. The relative abundance of prokaryotic and eukaryotic operational taxonomic units suggested a microbial trophic interaction in the Gwangyang Bay waters. We found that the community assembly process in prokaryotic communities was primarily influenced by biological interaction (immigration–emigration), whereas that in eukaryotic communities was more affected by environmental stress (habitat specificity) rather than by biotic factors. Our findings in the Gwangyang Bay waters may provide information on underlying (biotic or abiotic) factors of the assembly process in microbial communities in the estuarine–coastal zone.